The Arrival Not By Broom But By Greyhound
by BuffyTheSlayr
Summary: A tale of how Tara came to Sunnydale U, and her eventual meeting of Willow. Incorporates the canon of actual episodes with my own "inventions of the mind" Enjoy.  Critique. This is canon femslash. We'll see where this goes...
1. Chapter 1

**The Arrival Not By Broom But By Grey Hound**

_"And when the rain comes down_

_She's never getting wet_

_And though the skies are grey_

_She'll still be smilin' yet_

_Because in the eyes there's no teardrops_

_In her heart there's no pain_

_She's got a love as an umbrella from the rain''_

_-Michael Lloyd (The Umbrella Song)_

_Today_

The bus ride from her home town (population 500...499 now she guessed) was long but peaceful. Even though her twenty hour trip included several bus changes, a set of crying twin toddlers, a talkative grandmother, five unruly teenagers, and too many stops on the highway to count so the drivers could have a smoke with most of the passengers.

When she finally reached California she was relieved but when she saw the sign "Welcome to Sunnydale" tears of pure joy moistened her eyes and she needed to rifle thru her purse to find a tissue. She noticed her "map" in there too and took it out to have a look. This map was printed from the local library at the place she once called "home", but now was "that place I came from".

Soon she would be on the steps of the University Of California Sunnydale - Scholarships in hand, moving towards her new life. She wasn't going to miss out on anything in her new life even though her shyness and stuttering could possible dampen her already non-existent social life. But she cared not as she exclaimed with a smile, "I am alive".

_Two Months Later_

Tara left the English history class quietly, looking down at the floor as she walked. She glimpsed up occasionally to ensure she would not bump into anyone. Once at the quad, she sat and took out her Sunnydale U Gazette and scanned the social club ads. Wearily she looked at the Writer's Circles (Poetry not allowed), the woman's self defense classes (Its a must in Sunnydale!) and finally saw what she was looking for, "Wicca Group - Every Tuesday at 7pm at Mackenzie Hall Room 104-A" Tara smiled and circle it with her pink highlighter, and jotted down the info in her student day timer. "Finally...!" She muttered.

Although she was away from her family for a whole year with no contact at all, she still remained alone and isolated by her shyness. Spending so much time alone, she began to immerse herself in what she loved most, her beloved Wicca and its magicks. The magick's and Wicca came from her mother (Goddess rest her soul, she thought). Her mother felt empowered by the nature around her. It made Tara feel safe.

She could remember her mother standing in the small kitchen in the house Tara grew up in. She could remember how her mother labored all day cleaning and cooking for her father's approval. Tara could not recall her mother ever being angry or sad because of this lifestyle she led. Her mother would always smile and have time to teach young Tara something new every day.

The Magicks were an open secret within the family. Tara knew her father disapproved...no loathed Magick and the Wiccans in town. But Tara's mother embraced the earth and her power, and quietly groomed Tara in the ways of both until her untimely death.

After her mother's passing, she was expected to take over the household as her mother had done and she gladly did it. Her older brother, Donny made her life miserable with his demands that he would never have made of his mother. Donny despised Tara and she could never understand why. Maybe it was because her mother spent more time with her or maybe it was the power he knew Tara might someday have. "Get you punch in now" he must have thought after Mama's passing.

She knew this life she was forced into living was not for long for she worked very hard in school to maintain her grades and when her full scholarship arrived by post, she could remember the awful looks her father gave her, and how her brother swore up and done in a tirade that she couldn't possible leave for California, that her place was here taking care of him and Pa. How Beth, her mindless cousin from her father's side, had run from up the road to their house just to stand and watch Tara's father and brother verbally abuse her for receiving such a prestige's scholarship. Tara's father sneered at her as she read the letter aloud, trying to not stutter. Her father shook his head and walked out of the room. Donny pushed her into the dinette table and swore if she left, he'd hunt her down like the animal she truly was. Beth waited until the men had left the room and then stared at Tara with a frown, "You ain't even considering going there, are you? You know what'll happen. You don't belong there." Tara looked at Beth and smiled, "Damn right", and walked out of the room. Two months later she was attempting to live the life she knew her mother wanted for her.

So she hoped by connecting with the Wicca group on campus, she may connect with others who loved nature, like her beloved mother and to meet...well...anyone at this point...but maybe...

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

_Three Months Later_

Tara left the room disappointed and disgusted with herself. Four meetings deep and all she managed to do was to take minutes once and assist with several cookie bake sales in the Quad. Frustration deepened when she realized these Wicca wannabe's were just feminists in disguise. None seemed remotely interested in anything she had to say about the things her mother taught her and they were all "Goddess" this and "Gaia" that, and so she stopped talking. She might have quit going altogether but the impulse to have human contact (besides her classes) was too strong and she swore after every meeting it would be her last until once again that feeling tugged at her heart.

Tara knew she was very fortunate to have a full scholarship at Sunnydale U, but money was tight and she made every penny count. To have a little extra to spend on simple items like candles and incense at the local 'magic shop', she took a job at a local coffee place, the Espresso Pump. She worked her way up from the kitchen to bussing to being a barista and it was that she enjoyed - serving people. Although no one knew her name (even with her big shiny name tag displayed prominently on her vest) she got to know everyone's names. Well, she thought with amusement, the names she gave them.

There was "Extra Large Double Double", a older gentleman from Canada. All she knew about him was that in Canada, they drank big coffees with two shots of cream and two tablespoons of sugar. He didn't tip, so she guessed that they didn't tip for coffee in Canada.

Another fellow, who was rather pleasant looking (if not for his leer at her cleavage on occasion - harmless really) who ordered his coffee black and liked to have it in a thermos. He looked like a construction worker, but she called him "Pervy Guy" just the same. He always tipped, unless of course he was with his clingy oddball girlfriend, a pretty socially awkward blonde. She ordered a cappuccino with lots of sugar, syrup and whip cream. She always counted her change and never tipped, ever. Tara dubbed her "Wing Ding A Cha-Ching"

Pervy Guy and Wing Ding A Cha-Ching sometimes sat at a table with an even stranger group of people. A 40 something Englishman with a thing for Earl Grey tea ( "The Earl of Grey"), a blonde athletic girl who drank syrupy coffees ("Sugar Much") and a very cute red head who loved chocolate lattes ("Red Eye"). When they were all together, they would tip her well, but they didn't seem to notice her at all so she figured that they must have tipped out of habit. They were always talking in hushed tones and looked nervous at times. Tara thought they looked like a dysfunctional family of sorts. A family with laptop and books.

A lot of the college crowd hung around the Pump, as she called it, and they mostly studied and took up space. They'd nurse a small coffee for her entire shift and would take up three or four tables. They didn't tip either. What was it about people in Sunnydale? Must be a California thing, she surmised.

On the rare occasion she took a evening shift and a different lot occupied the tables and chairs. They were worse than the college kids because they didn't order anything! They just sat around gazing at the people on the main street as if they were sizing them up for...well...for a meal! The worst one of them was a creepy British man who looked alot like Billy Idol. She called him "Billy Wannabe" and avoided him at all costs. He never seemed to notice her anyways. Actually none of them did. Sometimes on break, Tara would look in the mirror just to make sure she wasn't invisible or something.

Eventually she had to quit the job. The money was okay but she was starting to lose important study time. She would miss certain customers...a lot but she came to Sunnydale to get her degree, not to become a waitress. On her last shift, as she was hanging up her barista smock for the last time, she noticed the dysfunctional family come in. She was sad - she would never get to know their real names. It's was bittersweet so she opted to take the back door to avoid being ignored by them one more time. That's just what you do to survive, she thought.

Back at the dorm, she entered her room and was relieved to see her roommate had come and gone without incident. A small note pinned to Tara's pillow let her know when the girl would return. She sighed and looked around at the lights strung around the room and smiled slightly. It reminded her of the beautiful night skies back...where she came from. Suddenly a well of emotions quelled up inside her and Tara felt a tear fall down from her cheek and she wiped it off quickly. "I really thought life was going to be different here", she said aloud as she sobbed to the empty room. That night was long and she never felt so lonely. Maybe she had been wrong about everything. Maybe her father had been right after all, and she repelled people with what she truly was. It took along time before she finally fell into a fitful sleep.


End file.
